Art Verité Gallery

The Last Click Before Reset

Daniel Aligaen’s exhibition An Unforgettable Experience We Will Never Remember is a collection of visually jolting works that takes viewers on a journey through a multi-chapter story that explores the human experience through the lens of Menippean satire. It may be noted, though, that the artist’s tongue-in-cheek iterations in past shows have obviously taken a darker, more dramatic, and sinister turn.

In the first chapter, The Reshaping, we see Tony, the main character, taking a hugely taxing stance as he is chased by aggressors. Amidst the backdrop of Aligaen’s three-dimensional labyrinth, his figures are established, their organic physical proportions contrasting with the stark lines and harsh edges of the fantastic slices of reality they exist in. The story progresses in The Grass Ain’t Greener On The Other Side, as we see the figures zoomed into with closer detail while we reflect on the consequences of our desires and the paths we take in pursuit of them. Chapter 3, Unprecedented Escape, shows the character navigating a difficult maneuver, setting up a jump into or from the edge to break free from his pursuer, who is also noticeably undergoing changes. In the next piece, The Perfect Timing, we see how circumstance can shape outcomes, where a split second of negligence can give an opportunity to take control of the chase. The Skirmish takes Aligaen’s characters to a new background filled with floral patterns contrasting with the straight lines of his previous settings, with delicate petals and graceful peacocks now serving as witnesses to a dazzling dervish exploring conflict and the very human desire to take the upper hand. In Fate, we see how Tony prevails, his destiny at the very pinnacle of triumph. The final chapters, The Chase, The End, and The Watcher, bring the story to a close with a final confrontation and a surprising twist.

Aligaen’s works are a critique of the patterns and mentalities that people fall into. Drawing from his earned and recent experience during the pandemic, he continues to challenge common misconceptions about human behavior through his art. In his latest installment of works, the artist revels in further experiments with geometric patterns, shaping them to create perfect settings for his story, inviting audiences in and then allowing them to lose themselves in other worlds sometimes seen only through the safe confines of a video screen as they immerse themselves in role-playing. Driving the story through seemingly intentionally connected imagery, it is fascinating to find out that the artist, in reality, was not as calculating in undertaking this fictive depiction. He was surprised by how the narrative shaped itself as he sought to interpret the very human dilemmas encapsulated in each piece. In the midst of all the chaos in each piece’s story, viewers find not only a persistent wit but moments of levity in the challenges faced by Tony, who not only traverses mutable landscapes but confronts internal transmogrifying forces.

Thought-provoking and engaging, Aligaen’s exhibition invites viewers to contemplate their own experiences and ways of thinking while also enjoying the clever and playful imagery that the artist pushes to the fore. As he combines survival fantasy rooted in chaos theory with settings that evoke memories of temple runs, sweeping mines, and ancients hellbent on defense, the artist allows an enticing escape from our realities—the backstabbing, the personal and external drama, life-altering choices, convoluted odysseys, and, wait—

– Kaye O’yek